Recordings of the great Anton Rubinstein (Josef Hofmann's teacher) AT THE PIANO?? (from 1890)

A sample from another triumph by Marston Records' incredible "The Dawn of Recording - The Julius Block Cylinders". This release has been rightfully described as "a "Rosetta Stone" of nineteenth century musical performance practice." This link: https://www.marstonrecords.com/products/block

displays an Overview, Track Listing, Liner Notes, and an excellent Note From Ward Marston, plus the ability to purchase "The Dawn of Recording".

I: Anton Rubinstein: Zhelaniye (Sehnsucht) Op. 8 No. 5 (0:00)
II: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: 6 Romances, Op. 38, No. 1 ("Don Juan's Serenade") (2:28)

Composer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky
Composer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Rubinstein
Composition: Anton Rubinstein: Zhelaniye (Sehnsucht) Op. 8 No. 5
Composition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Romances,_Opus_38_(Tchaikovsky)

Tenor: Vasily Samus
Accompanist?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Rubinstein

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A discussion follows of these recordings, that would have been made when Rubinstein was about sixty years old, two years before he had accepted Josef Hofmann as his only private pupil, the two meeting for 42 sessions in Dresden's Hotel d'Europe. If you know of Hofmann's often-astonishing recordings, consider Hofmann's comments about Anton Rubinstein to Hofmann's pupil, Abram Chasins:

… ”I’m very sorry for you that you never heard my master. Why… I’m a child – all of us put together are infants – compared to his titanic force.”

I noticed this mention in Marston Record's November, 2016 Newsletter that caught my attention:

"A Rubinstein Revelation"

"Eight years ago Marston Records released a three-CD set called The Dawn of Recording, which features early wax cylinder recordings of classical music many of which were made in the 1890s before the advent of commercial recording… These cylinders were recorded by a man named Julius Block whose story is fascinating. Marston Records… feels that this release is perhaps their most significant contribution to the field of historic recording…"

"It is clear from Block's diary that he had tried on several occasions to persuade Anton Rubinstein to make a cylinder, but the great pianist had firmly refused."

(Greg Nichols): However, the CD's booklet mentions that Julius Block's journal "Mortals and Immortals", pp. 21-1 contradicts this:

..."a plot watched between us to take (Rubinstein) by surprise... During that time Safonof and all his guests repeatedly asked him to consent and play into the phonograph. He would not listen to the idea. Pressed by his friends to give his reason, he said that he did not want to have his mistakes immortalized. An hour later Safonof rushed into the room and told (Julius Block) Rubinstein had consented to let me take a record... But then an irreparable catastrophe happened. The accumulator gave out! All hope of recording that evening was gone."

More from Marston's newsletter: "This year Marston Records has received several letters from German pianist and composer, Istvan Horvath-Thomas, who firmly believes that we are hearing Anton Rubinstein accompanying the tenor, Vasily Samus, on CD 3, tracks 7 and 8."

"Our impression when we first heard these two cylinders was that the accompanist was obviously a pianist of the highest order. The way he carries the singer with him is breath-taking. Istvan Horvath-Thomas has taken great pains to decipher the ten-second announcement on track 8 that precedes Samus's singing of Tchaikovsky's Serenade don Juan. He feels that he distinctly hears, ..."nade....Don Juan....Block....es spielt der Titan". In Block's journal, he describes Anton Rubinstein as a "titan", page 56 of the CD booklet."

"Track seven, also sung by Samus, is the song "Longing" by Rubinstein, and it seems quite clear that it is the same pianist on this recording. Mr. Horvath-Thomas observes that the pianist handles the music freely, virtually improvising the accompaniment. In fact, he plays an introduction that is not in the printed music, and improvises again at the end of the cylinder. We can never know for certain whether this is Rubinstein, but given this evidence added to what we hear in the playing, we think it is distinctly possible that Mr. Horvath-Thomas is correct."

Видео Recordings of the great Anton Rubinstein (Josef Hofmann's teacher) AT THE PIANO?? (from 1890) канала GregNichols1953